Posts Tagged ‘divorce fees’

In 2018, we offered several different discounts for specified time periods, and the results were exceptional for both our clients and ourselves. Law enforcement, military (including veterans), first responders, and teachers deserve to be rewarded for the tough work that they do in such brave and selfless ways. Therefore, it seems logical that we made the discounts more long-term. Seems logical, right? So, we are making strides to extend discounted domestic legal services for longer periods. Until March 31, 2019, we are cutting domestic legal fees by 15% to all:

Law Enforcement and support staff.

Military and veterans, including their direct family (excludes cousins and extended family).

First response personnel to include firefighters, paramedics, and their support teams.

Teachers at public institutions (excludes private school employees).

First I would like to emphasize in the most adamant way possible that costs for divorce will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower for those that can agree to terms, particularly child custody, support, visitation and division of assets and debts, if there are in fact marital debts. For instance, the price for agreed divorce in the Hinds, Rankin, and Madison county area is as follows (plus $93 filing fee–out of area is slightly higher).

No children or property: $675.

Children and no property: $775.

Property and no children; $725

Children and property: $875.

Please note that some additional fees may apply if a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (Q.D.R.O.) or property deed is needed to finalize the marital dissolution. These costs are significantly lower after any discount is applied.

Also, it is important to note that these fees require total unequivocal 100% agreement between the spouses.

Contested (not agreed to) divorce and custody prices vary between $3,000 and $5,000 retainer at $250/hour. It is obvious the value of trying to forge some agreement between yourself and the opposing parent. Child custody and divorce cases are time-consuming, stressful, and expensive. Although it is quite clear that parents often struggle to agree, it is quite worthwhile to attempt avoiding litigation if at all possible. After all, I often repeat that “if everyone were totally reasonable, I would have no job”. Sage wisdom is hard to find when attorneys put their own profits above your well-being. It is all too common, but a better way does exist.

In short, do yourself, your kids, and your spouse (or the opposing parent) a favor by seeking compromise so that you do not spend money on an attorney who simply wants to fuel the fire and line their own pockets with your hard-earned savings. It is always possible that you have no other option than to litigate, and if so we are fully up to the task. I have tried over 400 cases in 15 years and take great pride in winning the close ones. For your own sake, just be sure you have thoroughly explored other options before taking that path toward a prolonged legal battle. Unfortunately, not all lawyers will put ethics before profit. If you need help and advice in crafting an approach to a sane and reasonable custody or divorce matter, I will gladly help you, free of charge.

Matthew Poole is an award winning top 10 family lawyer and practices in Jackson, Mississippi. He has managed domestic cases in over 90% of the court districts in Mississippi over a 15 year period.

Everyone wants a cheap and stress-free divorce when they are ready to move on. Who can blame them when their marital circumstances are beyond repair? No one wants the agony and cost of fighting in a court of law over assets, child custody, or the myriad other factors associated with divorce litigation. Unfortunately, no-fault divorce isn’t easily achieved without some degree of tension in most cases. Again, there aren’t easy answers to complex issues, but the more that can be disputed likely will be, and costs often soar as a result. So what is the best solution?

As in marriage, divorce presents many challenges that lack a simple solution, particularly when children are involved. I cannot speak directly to the exact price other local lawyers charge for irreconcilable differences divorces (or “I.D.” as they are often referred to), but I can say that they will always be far less expensive than fault-based divorce, which often requires multiple open-court hearings and dozens of hours of attorney fees. The stress and turmoil of a legal battle are also not easy to avoid on some level, at least.

Even at a relatively modest rate of, let’s say $225 per hour and an optimistic time for resolution of, for instance 35 hours, the math gets scary quickly (225 x 35 = $7,875). When adding in court costs and other fees such as service of process and investigative fees, it is easy to see why the national average cost of divorce in 2017 was $15,500. We presented the relevant statistics in detail in our April 28, 2018 blog article and reference to a Nolo Legal study evaluating divorce costs. I highly recommend reading that in combination with this posting.

When recognizing that no-fault/irreconcilable difference divorce is usually less than $1,200, it is hard not to see the appeal. However, the appeal and low-cost of I.D. divorce has one danger that is often ignored by clients: If you don’t have 1. Communication, and 2. Consideration for fairness to both parties involved, you are most likely wasting your time and hard-earned money. It’s absolutely paramount that clients understand that Mississippi is not a “true no-fault state” at this time. In other words, you either both must agree to all terms of divorce, such as child custody and visitation, insurance issues, asset division, even alimony in some cases–or you must litigate. And therein lies the rub.

Our neighbor to the west, Louisiana, permits that a no-fault divorce be granted after 365 days of separation whether there is an agreement to divorce or not. While this seems an easy solution to a complex problem, it isn’t quite as appealing when we realize that issues such as child custody and financial matters still will require contested hearings unless the parties agree. Often this means that the cost won’t be any less than in Mississippi.

In 14 years of practicing domestic law, I can say that, despite making very clear to my clients that they may waste their money on attempting I.D. divorce, approximately one-third of them did exactly that because of overly-optimistic enthusiasm. I don’t blame any one of them one iota for trying the cheap route to divorce, but it is not without its downfalls. There are myriad factors that can derail what should be a simple divorce. It’s very easy to throw your money away because of optimism. As a former associate of mine used to say, “Haste makes waste”.

So, what is my advice? First of all, cooler heads usually prevail. The level of emotion and the amount one spends on domestic legal fees are strongly correlated. Therefore, 1. Make a checklist of all issues that require attention before contacting an attorney. 2. Have a calm, frank discussion with your spouse, and 3. Give your spouse appropriate consideration on all of the issues that need to be addressed–remember, you both start with equal marital rights. If you can do these three simple things, you will likely have saved yourself and your children a lot of emotional turmoil and cold, hard cash.

If we can give you assistance in determining the best path toward the dissolution of your marriage, please feel free to give us a call. I have 14 years of focused domestic law experience– we do not practice in any other area– and take great pride in helping find my clients the easiest and least expensive way out of tough spots. Even if a no-fault divorce is not an option, where there is a will, there is always a way.

Matthew Poole is a Jackson, Mississippi family law attorney who specializes in domestic case evaluation and marital conflict resolution.